ABSTRACT
All too often the existence of direct associations between social class membership and religious affiliation is publicly denied, especially in the United States where equal opportunity and individualism are essential components of national ideologies. Furthermore, public opinion mistakenly cherishes the idea that religions are pure and untainted by social concerns, and derive from divine sources. On a more personal basis, religion can both reinforce social status and be an inspiration or source of motivation for social mobility. Like social class in that it is ascribed at birth, religious affiliation frequently becomes an extension of social status. To the extent that religions express social class affiliations, such as Baptist sects in the United States, religions are also intimately associated with relationships between different social classes. Religions can actively promote social activism, or activism may progress in spite of the conservative influences of religion.
